This book considers the issue of self-determination in the present day where some minority groups have asserted their rights to external self-determination, only to find themselves rebuffed by the world community, while other minority groups have found strong support in the eyes of external actors and have garnered sufficient international recognition to be allowed to separate. The book asks what is so unique about some minority groups and about their quests for independence that would justify the authorization to remedially secede? Under what circumstances does the right to external self-determination accrue?

The book draws on international law as well as international relations theory to examine recent international relations issues for practical applications of self-determination quests, as well as by reviewing international legal standards that govern such independence struggles. The book considers particular examples of attempts at self-determination including East Timor, the recent Kosovar secession from Serbia, as well as the Russian province of Chechnya and the two Georgian break-away provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Milena Sterio is an Associate Professor of Law at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where she specializes in international law, international human rights law, and international criminal law. Her work has been published in numerous academic journals, including the American University Law Review, the Connecticut Journal of International Law, and the Minnesota Journal of International Law.

Introduction 1. The Notion of Self-determination 2. Recent Applications of Self-determination 3. Self-determination and Other Theories 4. The Great Powers' Rule or a New Theory of Self-determination 5. International Jurisprudence 6. Case Study 1: East Timor 7. Case Study 2: Kosovo 8. Case Study 3: Chechnya 9. Case Study 4: Georgia (South Ossetia and Abkhazia) 10. Case Study 5: (South Sudan) 11. Conclusion